Here is a pic of the smocking I was telling you about. It is out of a book called, The Art of Manipulating Fabric and it has a chapter on smocking techniques. This is the one that comes closest to what I think is being done with the Balenciaga one. Now, there are tricks to the trade and so you can easily take time tested directions and skew it to come up with a new smocking design of your own and that is what i think Balenciaga did.

Here is a pic from the book. Here is a smocking sample for a project that I am working on.

In her New York based design studio, Sandy Chilewich continues to discover ways to push textiles beyond their comfortable and sometimes monotonous context.

....Sandy’s passion is finding underutilized, often overlooked manufacturing techniques, and from them produce fresh, modern textiles.Over the past 10 years, Sandy has added spun and tufted vinyls to her collections; for Fall 08 she will introduce her first molded vinyl. Sandy prides herself on original design and strives to bring a fresh perspective to the table.

Plynyl, the commercial grade wall-to-wall and tile application, was developed by Sandy’s architect husband, Joe Sultan. They are now partners, with a corporate name change to Chilewich | Sultan, and manage all aspects of the business together. Chilewich | Sultan LLC is passionate about creating durable and easy to clean textiles, using the least amount of energy possible. Their award winning products are made in the USA and sold around the world.

In 1978 Sandy co-founded HUE, the women’s legwear company. HUE is credited with revolutionizing the legwear market through their innovation in design, packaging and merchandising. The company was sold in 1992 and continues to be a thriving brand in the hosiery world.After HUE, she created her New York City based design studio and continued developing her fascination with textiles. RayBowl™, the first effort of her new studio, was introduced in November of 1997 and met with instant success. RayBowl™ is constructed from a metal frame covered with stretch netting typically found in lingerie. This design utilized a simple inventive mechanism for making concave fabric; a process for which the RayBowl™ has received a Mechanical and Utility patent as well as numerous awards.

Chilewich products are designed in New York, made primarily in the USA and sold around the world.

Gius, I can't believe I never knew this thread existed. I love everything on here, a wealth of inspiration.

If any of you come to Tokyo you must stop by the Nuno store in Roppongi...you can actually buy those fabrics, it's textile heaven.

glad you like it, melisande :p

any ideas on the prices at Nuno?
i would love to own some of their pieces...
i only have them a collection of photocopies from books...
-they used to sell it privately here, to architects & interior designers.. but apparently it didn't sell well so they stopped carrying it Some of the works do seem more like art pieces that are hung on the wall, than as functional items but still...

any ideas on the prices at Nuno?
i would love to own some of their pieces...
i only have them a collection of photocopies from books...
-they used to sell it privately here, to architects & interior designers.. but apparently it didn't sell well so they stopped carrying it Some of the works do seem more like art pieces that are hung on the wall, than as functional items but still...

Well...it's been a while since I last went, but if I remember correctly you can get textiles in the 50$/meter range, some less, some more in the 100$/meter range...